Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-08-13

Der, 1875. The previous day he had
killed a man called Vicard, and my
performance was given in favor of
Vicard's widow and orphan. Vicsrd
was a railway porter, and had been
foolish enough to put his hand into the
lions travelling box at the station
Sultan had just arrived from Africa
that morning-to stroke the brute.
Sultan seized his arm and tore 1t off
bodily. The man died the same night.
Before twenty-four hours had elapsed
had entirely subjugated this man-killer,
| worked regularly with him twice
a day for ten years. 1t was just
year ago that he attacked me and nearly
killed me. was suffering from rheu
matte pains that day and happened to
slip. A lion-tamer must never fall. Lions
have not your English notions about
on me like shot. and got me by the
neck. caught him by the throat and
shouted, Sultan Sultan what are you
doingY My voice frightened him, doubt
less, for he opened his jaws and loosened
his hold without tearing out the flesh.
If he had done that l should inevi-
tably have been killed. He then
seized me by the arm and afterward
by the thigh, wounding me besides
with his claws in three other places.
l managed, however. in spite of my
terrible wounds, to struggle to my
feet, and once on my feet was master of
him. Since then, however, l have not
entered the cages. l have been terribly
shaken and reduced in strength. 1t will
be some time before shall have sufficient
nerve to approach Sultan once more.
No. l do not believe in that nonsense
that is talked about it being impossible
to do anything with animals which
have tasted human blood, or have seen
it. If did, should have retired from
business long ago. I have been bitten
and torn over and over again, and have
often continued my performance, with
my blood streaming all over me. The
brutes appreciate my courage and are
afraid of me, because they see that am
not afraid of them. That is the whole
secret of lion-taming"
"Do you believe in the power of the
eye? There is man at the FoliesBer
ceres who processes to tame lions by the
power of fascination-mesmerism What
is your opinion of this profession"
II consider it charlatanism of the
purest water. The animals are doubt
less tame brutes, born in the cage. do
not believe in the power of the eye. A
blind man could be as good lion-tamer,
if he had the requisite pluck, as any
other man. l myself am shortsighted,
and, as you will see, possess no very
quelling eyes,"
"You are looking for the traces of my
conflict with Sultan" NJ. Bidel went on,
turning his head round and disclosing
beneath the hair on his neck a most
formidable cicatrice, half a foot long
That is one. have ten other such on
my body"
mo-" he continued, II do not believe
in fascination. The voice, the tone of
command, is a great-the principal-in-
strument in lion-taming. Articulate
sounds seem to amaze them"
"You are immensely strong, M.
Bidel2"
II used to be-" he replied, modestly.
81 have told you what did at Bayonne
when lad. At Madrid once pursued a
lion that had got loose for thirty min
utes, caught him single-handed, and held
him till my men brought up bis cage,
into which l threw him. Well, yes, I
was slightly damaged At one time
one of the great hits of my performance
was to pick up full-sized lion on my
shoulders, and to carry him round the
cage three times. The lion weighed 40
pounds. l am not so strong now. Sui
tan knocked 1t out of me considerably.
No l follow no particular regimen--train-
ing, you call it-and never have done so.
I avoid excuses of all kinds, especially
of strong drink, and that is all"
"You sometimes take amateurs into
the cage with you, do you not"
Frequently. Ladies usually. Women
are much more courageous than men.
A woman who has once offered to enter
never draws back. Men frequently do.
Women are far nobler and more intelli
gent than men. That is obvious they
take much less alcohol. They certainly
ought to be allowed to vote. The first
woman who entered the cage with me
was Mademoiselle Ghinassi, of the Va
rietes Theatre. That was in Paris in
1874. All the brutes in my show were
collected in the cage. In 1879 Made
moiselle Rousseil, tragic actress, also &C.
companied me and, surrounded by all
my lions, recited 'Melpomene.' In 1879
Mademoiselle Josse of Cherbourg, and
in 1880 Mr. Crockford, of Dieppe, an
English shipowner, repeated the expert
ment. My guests tremble good deal
outside the door, but once inside the
cage seem to master their emotion.
The women always show more pluck"
you must have heavy expenses
Eyes. Calculate my expenses in Paris
at about 81, 400 month, and it is at Paris
we spend least. The expenses include
food for the beasts, rent for space, and
the tax on entertainments which goes to
the public assistance Office. use one
horse day to feed my animals. We
give them beef twice a week. One day
in the month they fast. A lion eats
twenty pounds of flesh per diem, and
drinks two quarts of cows milk every
morning. The Polar bears get fish oil
three times week. Then there is the
loss of beasts to be considered. There
is terrible mortality by consumption
among lions, and lion is worth
from 81, 900 to $4,000. The cost price of
lion, untamed, is $4,000 That is
what l paid for Sultan, who is now
worth at least $4,000. He is the most
magnificent specimen of black-maned
Atlas lion in Europe. You must con-
slider the capital we have to sink in our
subjects when you calculate our ex-
penses. On the other hand, the receipts
are good. Neuilly Fair is one of the
most productive of the places we visit.
We give two performances every night,
and make daily average receipt of $500.
On Sundays we usually make $500 to
5000, but with six performances at re-
duced prices"
NJ. Bidel said that he never felt any